It’s been a few years since I went on an Alaska cruise, but when I spoke to SFBW’s digital editor Sean d’Oliveira, it became clear that he did way more adventurous excursions than I did. I mean, I rode a mountain bike around a glacial lake. He did dog-sledding. A little different. So, I wanted to know more…
Since summer is high season for many destinations around the world, why were you set on Alaska? Everyone I talked to said Alaska in the summer was just an amazing place to visit and I knew Celebrity offered many Alaska cruise itineraries, so it seemed like a perfect time to explore. And taking a cruise made it so much easier to explore the area without having to find multiple places to stay.
This trip was for a special occasion, right? Yes, it was for our honeymoon! We got married in March and waited till the peak Alaska season to take our trip and it was well worth the wait.
Okay, I can’t wait to hear about the dog-sledding experience. And you took your first helicopter trip ever and landed on a glacier? Yes, we landed on the Herbert Glacier and it felt like landing on another world. I was a little uneasy about the helicopter, but once I got in the air for a few minutes and saw the majestic views, all my fears disappeared. We landed at a dog sledding camp with 240 pure-bred Huskies. We went on a sled ride for about 30 minutes and it was truly a remarkable experience getting to see the dogs work in their element.
Did you sign up for any other excursions? We did an ocean raft trip to some volcanic islands around Sitka and seeing a slew of sea otters around the kelp forest was definitely the highlight. We also took a kayak adventure which was very peaceful and scenic. Our last excursion was riding UTVs around a lake in Ketchikan, which included a boat ride to a restaurant where they served us Dungeness crab.
What was the weather like? In the Alaskan ports we visited, which were Sitka, Juneau and Ketchikan, it was in the 60s, which we absolutely loved! The only time it was genuinely cold was on the glacier, which we were prepared for. Other than a few little rain showers, I’d say the weather was absolutely gorgeous and we loved looking to see what the weather in South Florida was and being thankful we didn’t have to deal with the heat.
What Celebrity ship did you sail on, and what were the most memorable onboard experiences? We sailed on the Celebrity Eclipse and it was an amazing ship! Every crew member was extremely friendly and our dining experiences were truly unique. We were able to do a specialty dining night at Le Petit Chef and the experience was one-of-a-kind. It’s interactive dining where an animated French chef prepares a four-course meal right before your eyes, which was a wonderful time.
